Tuesday, December 23, 2014 — DT 27547

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27547
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, July 21, 2014
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27547]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

Puzzles from Rufus are usually on the gentle side. While this one is about average for him in terms of level of difficulty, it contains relatively few Briticisms which should make it a bit easier for solvers on this side of the Atlantic.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (&lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//). Definitions presented in blue text are for terms that appear frequently.

Across

1a   Never-ending malady /makes one/ grumble (8)

6a   Get the wind up? // Retreat! (6)

I would say that this is a double definition, with the former portion being a cryptic description of winding up a rope or cable — not for the first time. Miffypops indicates that the solution would be split (2,4) when used in this sense, but I am confident that would not be the case.

9a   Fool to get bad // abuse (6)

The wordplay is ASS (fool) + AIL (to get bad).

10a   Charm // Tibetan leader with performing animals (8)

11a   Hold back an expression of disapproval /in/ play (8)

The indefinite article changes because "an expression of disapproval" is "a boo".

12a   But an electrician longs to find them (6)

13a   Club that's used by militant trade unionists? (6,6)

This is vintage Rufus. A "club" is a weapon which is used to strike an opponent, thus a "strike weapon". A "strike" is also a weapon used by militant trade unionists.

16a   High in visual acuity // scores (6-6)

19a   Tries to catch // 'Points of View' (6)

Points of View^[7] is a long-running British television series broadcast on BBC One. It started in 1961 and features the letters of viewers offering praise, criticism and observations on the television programming of recent weeks.

21a   They should be fair, but they don't play the game (8)

23a   Don't give up /getting/ unit back in shape (8)

24a   Toiler disposed // to belie his nature? (6)

In effect, the definition is "to belie the nature of a toiler". Belie means to fail to fulfil an expectation. Thus "to loiter" would be to belie the nature of such a person.

25a   Means // business (6)

26a   Intended // to put one's name in legal document (8)

Down

2d   Taciturn native? (6)

Native^[5] is a British term for an oyster reared in British waters.

As for taciturn, the simple explanation is that oyster^[3,4,11] is slang for a closemouthed or uncommunicative person.

The complicated explanation — which I concocted before discovering the foregoing — assumes that the clue is an allusion to the "taciturn" oysters created by Lewis Carroll.

"The Walrus and the Carpenter" is a narrative poem by Lewis Carroll — pen name of English writer Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832–1898) — that appeared in his book Through the Looking-Glass, published in December 1871. The poem is recited in chapter four, by Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Alice.

Walking upon a beach one night, the Walrus and Carpenter come upon an offshore bed of oysters, four of whom they invite to join them. To the disapproval of the eldest oyster, many more follow them. After walking along the beach (a point is made of the fact that the oysters are all neatly shoed despite having no feet), the two main characters are revealed to be predatory and eat all of the oysters. At this point, we are informed:

"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.

3d   Practical joke /is/ quietly offensive (5)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

4d   Alter it by breaking // free (2,7)

5d   Number coming up with task /for/ several computers (7)

6d   Parts /with/ some bread, we hear (5)

The word "with" can qualify as a link word in a couple of senses.

With^[11] might be used in the sense of characterized by or having ⇒ a person with intelligence and initiative. 

As a preposition with^[5] may be used to indicate the cause of condition ⇒ he was trembling with fear. Used in this sense, the word "with" essentially means "resulting from".

7d   Routine // disguise for army scout (9)

8d   Idleness // during battle (8)

13d   The only one in a suit // wearing a vest (9)

In Britain, a vest^[5] is an undergarment worn on the upper part of the body, typically having no sleeves. The garment that North Americans call a vest is known in the UK as a waistcoat.

In card games (especially bridge), a singleton^[5] is a card that is the only one of its suit in a hand ⇒ declarer drew trumps, finding that West had a singleton.

Singlet^[5] is a chiefly British term for a sleeveless garment worn under or instead of a shirt; another name for a vest [undershirt].

14d   Financial gains // which come from the branches (9)

I dithered over marking this as a double definition but, in the end, decided to follow Miffypops' lead and do so.

The second definition must be interpreted as "[things] which come from the branches".

15d   Silent films star giving first /or/ last performance (8)

Gloria Swanson^[5] (1899–1983) was an American actress; born Gloria May Josephine Svensson. She was a major star of silent films such as Sadie Thompson (1928) but is now chiefly known for her performance as the fading movie star in Sunset Boulevard (1950).

17d   The point of missiles used in anger (7)

18d   Go back // to do repair work on turf, it's announced (6)

20d   Lyle looks like he's been in the bunker (5)

Sandy Lyle^[7] is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s.

His first name does not sound "like the contents of a golf bunker". Rather, it describes someone who has been in a bunker — especially if his shot out of the bunker was less than cleanly hit.

22d   Being sorry, // one's called round (5)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon